St James's Place (STJ) pushed European embedded value (EEV) new business profits ahead 13 per cent in 2012 to £276.8m, while funds under management rose 22 per cent to £34.8bn. Moreover, and even though first-half new business growth was weak, a pick up in the second half meant that new business growth (on an annual premium equivalent basis) reached 16 per cent overall.
Managed funds were boosted by a positive investment return of £3.41bn, but there were also net inflows of new funds worth £3.35bn. The group has its own dedicated adviser team, too - St James's Place Partnership - and this has been helpful given new regulatory rules that have banned commission payments and forced many independent financial advisers out of the market. Indeed, partnership numbers grew 8 per cent to 1,788, with a further 54 apprentices currently in the programme.
Admittedly, operating profit on an EEV basis was 1.5 per cent lower at £365.9m - but this was before the inclusion of investment income, which turned the previous year's £180.4m loss into a gain of £190.4m. Accordingly, JPMorgan Cazenove has upgraded its 2013 EPS forecast by 3 per cent to 27.96p (21.52p in 2012) and expects embedded value per share of 507p.
| ST JAMES'S PLACE (STJ) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 490p | MARKET VALUE: | £2.49bn | |
| TOUCH: | 487-490p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 496p | LOW: 301p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.2% | PE RATIO: | 23 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 150p* | EMBEDDED VALUE: | 461p | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Net premiums (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 59.9 | -31.0 | 14.2 | 4.39 |
| 2009 | 55.0 | 29.0 | 8.30 | 4.50 |
| 2010 | 50.0 | 162 | 11.4 | 6.00 |
| 2011 | 43.7 | 110 | 21.9 | 8.00 |
| 2012 | 39.2 | 135 | 21.5 | 10.6 |
| % change | -10 | +23 | -2 | +33 |
Ex-div: 10 Apr Payment: 24 May *Includes intangible assets of £1bn, or 203p a share | ||||
